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Convention Information

  Convention Name Penny Arcade Expo
  Logo PAX qjpreviewthjpg
  Caption PAX logo
  Genre Gaming
  Status Active
  Location Washington State
  Country USA
  Years 2004-Present
  Website http://wwwpennyarcadeexpocom


Created in 2004, PAX has doubled in size each successive year and has grown into a weekend-long celebration of gamer culture. Defining characteristics include game-inspired concerts, panels on game industry topics, exhibitor booths, after-hours parties, tournaments, and freeplay areas.


PAX 2004

On '' ( GameCube ), '' Dance Dance Revolution '', '' Doom '' (PC) and the original home version of '' Pong ''. Sean Celaya defeated Kevin Potter in the final round to take home the ultimate prize becoming the PAX 2004 Omegathon champion. In an interesting turn of fate, precisely 1337 people pre-registered, to which Holkins mused, "though I ordinarily shun leet-speak that number clearly implies the blessing of gaming deities." {Link without Title} All told, about 3,300 people attended the event.


PAX 2005

PAX 2005 took place from '', '' Katamari Damacy '', '' Karaoke Revolution '', '' Quake '', and the Atari 2600 game '' Combat ''. In a thrilling four-round match, Luke "Coreside" Armstrong defeated Will "LeRoy" Garroutte by a single point to win the best-of-three series 2-1-1 and take home the grand prize. In total, more than 9,000 gamers attended PAX 2005, almost triple the previous year's attendance.

In response to Hurricane Katrina Penny Arcade auctioned off the original pencil sketch of the PAX 2005 program cover on eBay with 100% of the profit to be given to the American Red Cross. It was sold to Christian Boggs for the final price of $8,700. Mr. Boggs also placed the winning bid of $20000 on an auction to appear in a Penny Arcade comic strip at the 2005 Child's Play Charity Dinner. [http://www.penny-arcade.com/2006/02/06


PAX 2006

PAX 2006 was held from August 25 to August 27 2006 . The Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue was again used as the venue, although the Tabletop Gaming area was moved offsite to the ballrooms at the nearby Red Lion hotel. Exhibit space at PAX 06 completely sold out in less than three months, with exhibitors including Nintendo , Microsoft , Ubisoft , Turbine Inc , Technomancer Press , NCSoft , Rooster Teeth Productions , Creative Labs , Wizards Of The Coast , and NVidia . Because they applied one month before PAX 2006, Sony was unable to attend, as exhibitor space was also sold out. According to Gabe , there were 19,323 attendees {Link without Title} .

Highlights:
  • Returning Omeganaut Will "LeRoy" Garroutte defeated David "Davertron" Davis in the final round of the Omegathon: head to head Tetris. LeRoy took away a brand new Scion car fully loaded with custom wheels, custom sound, LCD tv, Xbox 360 Premium, wireless controllers, and more. Davertron left with an Xbox 360 Premium and $500 Best Buy gift card, and will return as an Omeganaut in 2007.

  • Holkins and PA business manager Robert Khoo led the way into Omegathon Round 5, Guitar Hero II. After blistering through "Trippin on a Hole In a Paper Heart" on expert, Holkins smashed the guitar on stage. {Link without Title}

  • Krahulik and Holkins announced the first ever Penny Arcade video game. Titled "On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One", the game will feature PA characters in episodic adventure. Details were few; when asked what the game was about Holkins replied "Gabe. Tycho. And Cthulhu." {Link without Title}

  • Krahulik and Holkins also announced a Penny Arcade annual scholarship, wherein one applicant with an intention to work in the game industry will be awarded $10,000 toward tuition expenses. {Link without Title}

  • Several game companies ran large prize tournaments and giveaways, including ArenaNet ($10,000 prize tourney), TableStar ($2,500 prize tourney), and Nvidia (several thousand dollars' worth of video cards).

  • Thousands of PAX attendees spontaneously created a game/minor deity called "Ball". {Link without Title}



PAX 2007


The fourth annual Penny Arcade Expo will once again take place on the last full weekend on August, which for 2007 is August 24, 25, and 26. Robert Khoo , Penny Arcade's Director of Business Development, has stated in the official forums that PAX 2007 will occupy 130,000 square feet of the Washington State Convention And Trade Center , more than doubling the space of PAX 2006.

On '' co-creator Mike Krahulik speculated in his blog that PAX, with its focus on gamers and geek culture, will become the new signature event for gaming.

On August 11 , 2006 , Krahulik gave some clarification on his announcement in an attempt to dispel the popular notion that PAX is "the next E3."

On January 26 , 2007 , Holkins quietly announced the opening of pre-registration for Penny Arcade Expo 2007 and the relaunch of the PAX site.

On , Jonathan Coulton , MC Frontalot , The Minibosses , Neskimos , The Oneups , and Optimus Rhyme .

On May 21 , 2007 , Wil Wheaton was announced as the keynote speaker for PAX 2007 and the Omegaprize was revealed.



On June 25 , 2007 , the floor plan for the exhibition hall was linked on the PAX home page.

On June 29 , 2007 , it was announced that TerraDrive Live , the first Massively Multiplayer Live Action Roleplaying Game would be hosted at PAX.






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